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A Quick Dress for Valentine’s, or Any Time

It occurred to me the other day that the girl didn’t really have anything special to wear for Valentine’s Day. Her class is having a party, of course, and I thought it would be fun to make her a dress or something.

I worried that maybe I didn’t have anything in my stash that said Valentine’s Day, but it turned out I had a good amount of flannel with hearts on it. I don’t know if I originally intended to make pajamas out of it or what, but there it was, proving once again that I should trust my stash.

Then I wasn’t sure about a pattern, because I didn’t want to have to buy anything to make it, and I wanted it to be pretty quick and easy. I settled on the Back to School Tunic Dress from Sew Mama Sew (pattern by Jessica of The Sewing Rabbit).

The girl could barely stand still to model her dress.

This is a great pattern because it’s not really a pattern at all. All the cutting is based on the dimensions of a well-fitting T-shirt; then you just make it as long as you like.

I basically followed the pattern without the pompom trim at the bottom; it’s super cute, I just didn’t have any on hand. I also skipped the ribbon at the waistline because I thought this dress was pretty casual and looked fine without it.

It took me maybe an hour or a little more over the span of a couple of days to get this one stitched up, but it’s super easy and quick. I would also like to report that this dress features my first successful fabric gather, thanks to the cheating method detailed at MADE. So easy!

Anyway, it’s a great pattern that — because of the flannel, I’m sure — reminds me a bit of pajamas (and the girl slept in her dress last night, so…). I foresee making a bunch of these in the future, some without sleeves, or with short sleeves. I love the patchwork of the original, too, which might be a great use for some fat quarters.

The girl approved heartily. She wore it all evening then declared she wants to wear it to school tomorrow.

Works for me.

Have you made anything for your kids lately? I’d love to hear about it.